Had an interesting experience in the '65 Convertible deVille on Sunday. I was coming back from a car show 2 miles down the road and the cooling fan bent some blades and embedded them in the radiator. Big bang, engine shut off immediately and coasted into the driveway, no real damage done.
I'm wondering what could have caused this though. The fan is a six bladed soft aluminium blade fan - is this original or an early flexalite of somehting? It has a date code of Jun 18 printed on the front and fits on a spacer not a viscous clutch.
As we were exiting the showfield the car sat a whole on some ground with rammed stones put down on the entrance in case it was wet so cars would not bog down. These fans create quite a tornado of air and I was wondering if it sucked up some stones which hit the fan blades and bent them over enough for them to catch in the radiator. Then when I acellerated up the road the engine rocked over slightly further pushing the blades into the radiator core. The ends of two of the blades were chipped by something. Seems a long shot but that is all I can think of. Engine mounts seem good and tight.
The fan had a finger's width clearance between the fan blades and the radiator but had no shroud. Engine has run fine on 6 hour plus journeys up to now, doesn't get hot in traffic but the heater doesn't really blow hot.
A buddy and I took the radiator out this evening and it seemed fine inside - pretty new actually, so I'll get it recored.
However I noticed there was no thermostat - just the 'ring' of the thermostat sitting in the housing with a load of crud embedded into the endge of it. The pipe where the heater coolant flow goes into the water crossover by the thermostat neck was pretty bunged up too so we cleaned that out but still there can't be more than a 1/6th inch passage.
My big question is
a) what caused it and has it happened to anyone else before?
b) should I straighten out the fan blades, get them checked for balance and put it back with an original shroud (there is one on ebay in Troy Michigan right now but kind of spendy at $100 for a fan shroud)
or
c) should I get a pair of 12" electric thermostatic fans and wire them up to a thermostatic switch so the fans come on at a pre-set themperature and go off at a pre-set temperature. That way I'll know the engine is running at the right temperature, it will warm up quicker etc etc. But it won't look original and electric fans make a differnt should than the turbine of the standard fan. The rest of the car is 100% original except for the yellow coloured spark wires and a 1 -wire alternator.

What's the general advice of the board? Put it all back original, fit a shroud, hope it never happens again, or be safe and go with the electric fans?

Advice please?
Thanks, Nick

CADforce69

07-20-11, 07:20 PM

If it was my car, and I never had had high engine temp. problems before, Iīd go with original equipment. If this model had inherent cooling problems -I think itīs not the case-, I would probably would go with a double electric fan system, maybe added to original fan. Electric fan alone would save some gas or improve performance but, given the horse power of this model, it would be irrelevant. This is written by a person that thinks original is always a plus in the car value and changes are also justified in case of a bad design of a car system concerning reliability or safety.

425 Dual Quad

07-21-11, 06:29 AM

CADForce69,
Thanks - I see you are in Madrid in Spain with a '69 Sedan - sounds nice. Thanks for replying so late at night.
regards, Nick

CADforce69

07-21-11, 11:51 AM

Yeah, I like surfing the forum around midnight, and I am another nuts owning such an aircraft carrier in a country where everything is designed for small cars :LOL: I hope your car is ok and your only problem is just this. You can follow the car story in this thread: http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/rwd-19xx-1984-deville-fleetwood-1985/232166-69-sedan-de-ville-official-restoration.html

425 Dual Quad

07-21-11, 08:10 PM

Thanks - yes they are great cars. I've a friend here with a 69 SDV with the exact same interior as yours - it's a wonderful brocade. His car is dark brown however. Your car looks really sharp in teh dark blue - congratulations on such a buy.
Mine has a few odd niggles - mainly electrical - but O'll get them sorted over the winter. For now in the summer I just want to drive it.
cheers! Nick

CADforce69

07-22-11, 03:16 PM

Thanx. Yeah, electric accessories + vacuum lines are the main weak point of these cars but never mind as they can not stop you enjoying the pleasure of driving such boats. Fixing these bugs and restoring these cars is part of the hobby. Have you posted pics of your car (and your friendīs)?
cheers-Ruben

77CDV

07-22-11, 11:23 PM

I second the vote for originality. Not really for the electric fans unless they're absolutly necessary to keep the car cool, and that would only really be an issue with this car if you were idling in heavy traffic on a very hot day with the AC blowing. Not something you likely do in Ireland. As to how it happend in the first place, I'd check t make sure the radiator and engine are secure. If the mounts for either are loose or worn, the shock of going over the jolt may have moved them enough to make contact.